Futari Ecchi Gets 3rd Live-Action Film

The staff and cast of the live-action Futari Ecchi (Futari H) films announced on Sunday that a third film is being produced. The announcement was made at the DVD launch event for Futari H: Second Kiss, the second film inspired by Aki Katsu's romantic comedy manga. The manga follows an inexperienced couple and their comic adventures as they explore intimacy with each other.

Yūri Morishita (Hotel Flowers) starred in the first two live-action films as the wife Yura, and she appeared at Sunday's event alongside actress Kirara Asuka (Jō-ō 3: Special Edition). Asuka played the younger sister of Yura's husband Makoto. Hikaru Okada (Hana Zakari no Kimi-tachi e: Ikemen Paradise) replaced Riki Miura (Here is Greenwood) as Makoto in the second film.

Aki Katsu (Psychic Academy, The Vision of Escaflowne) has been drawing the manga, which describes itself as a "love bible" or a "user's manual" for people in love, in Young Animal and Young Animal Arashi since 1997. The manga has sold 23 million copies so far, and Hakusensha published the 51st compiled book volume last month. Tokyopop published the manga in North America under the name Manga Sutra - Futari H before announcing that it would close its North American publishing operations.

Media Blasters released the 2002-2004 original video anime adaptation of the same manga under the name Step Up Love Story. There was a previous live-action television mini-series adaptation of the manga in 2003, and a separate live-action net series premiered in Japan last July.